Tideland Signal to Provide Maritime Warning Systems for Gwynt y Môr Offshore Windfarm

RWE npower renewables has awarded Tideland Signal, the international specialist in aids to marine navigation, the main contract to supply warning equipment to protect the Gwynt y Môr offshore windfarm against collisions and accidental damage caused by shipping.

The services supplied by Tideland under the contract cover everything from design and supply through to commissioning, inspection and maintenance by offshore-qualified engineers. Equipment will be delivered in three main batches from 2011 to 2013 and the whole system will comply with Trinity House requirements as well as the International Association of Lighthouse Authority's (IALA) latest recommendations O-139 covering the marking of man-made offshore structures.

The Tideland package includes five two-mile fog signal stations (AB-560 AudioBeam Fog Signal and Sentry Visibility Detector) along with pairs of 5nm lanterns (MLED-155 MaxiHALO-60 marine LED lantern) to mark the nominated significant peripheral structures (SPS) as defined by IALA O-139. Further pairs of 5mn lanterns will be supplied to mark the remaining SPSs. There is also one intermediate peripheral structure (IPS) marked with a pair of 2nm lanterns (MLED-155 MaxiHALO marine LED lantern).

Supplied complete with mounting pedestals and brackets, the Tideland aids to navigation are synchronised with a combination of integral GPS Sync modules and hard wiring. All units will be connected to control and monitoring panels housed within Gwynt y Môr's wind turbine generator, which also contain power supplies and battery packs to provide back-up power for the aids to navigation for up to 96 hours in the event of mains power failure.

In addition to the permanent aids to navigation, Tideland Signal will also supply temporary marking lights with a range of 2nm provided by the robust and proven MLED-120SC unit with GPS Sync.

Other wind farms protected by Tideland Signal equipment include offshore wind farms at Lynn and Inner Dowsing off the Lincolnshire coast, Thornton Bank and Ormonde in the eastern Irish Sea.

Tideland supplies a wide range of compact, high-performance LED lanterns for offshore installations, including self-contained, solar-powered units. For installations requiring a 5nm yellow light, the most widely used unit is Tideland's MLED-155 fitted with MaxiHALO-60 LED flasher, which offers the lowest power consumption available and minimal maintenance.

Approved to ISO 9001:2008, Tideland Signal is a British-based member of the Tideland group of companies, which specialises in the design and manufacture of aids to marine navigation. The Tideland group is independently owned and has its headquarters in Houston, Texas.